On a cold spring day on March 1 (13), 1881, on the embankment of the Catherine’s Canal in St. Petersburg, the explosion of a bomb thrown by Ignatius Grinevitsky, a member of the Narodnaya Volya military terrorist organization, put an end to the reign of Alexander II, the emperor who went down in Russian history with the title of Liberator. According to the revolutionaries, his assassination was supposed to stir up Russia and become a signal for a general uprising, but contrary to expectations, the people were still silent, immersed in their eternal dream.
Birth of the future emperor
The future autocrat Alexander Nikolayevich Romanov - the heir to the throne of the world's largest country - was born on April 17 (28), 1818 in the Nikolaev Palace of the Moscow Kremlin, where his parents - Tsarevich Nikolai Pavlovich and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna (nee Princess Frederick Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia) - arrived for the celebration of Easter.
His birth, marked by a salute, was an important state event, since due to the absence of older brothers, from the first days he received the status of the future autocrat. An interesting detail: after the death of Peter I in 1725, Alexander II was the only Russian emperor born in Moscow.
Years of youth and study
According to tradition, the heir to the throne received home education under the guidance of the best teachers of that time, among whom was the famous poet Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky, who, in addition to teaching the Russian language, was entrusted with the general management of education. In addition to general educational disciplines, the curriculum also included military sciences, foreign languages (English, German and French), drawing, fencing, dancing and a number of other subjects.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, in his youth, the future All-Russian Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich was distinguished by perseverance and extraordinary ability to science. Many considered the dominant trait to be the unusual amorousness that accompanied him until the end of his life. It is known, for example, that in 1839, having visited London, he unexpectedly ignited everyone with feelings for Queen Victoria, who was still very young. It is curious that subsequently, occupying the thrones of the two largest world powers, they experienced extreme dislike for each other.
Maturity period
Alexander began his state activity in 1834, when, having made an oath on the occasion of adulthood, he was introduced by his royal father, Tsar Nicholas I, into the main government institution - the Senate, and somewhat later - the Holy Synod and the State Council.
Three years later, he made a long journey through Russia. Having been in 29 provinces located in its European part, the future emperor Alexander Nikolaevich visited Western Siberia and Transcaucasia. In 1838, he went abroad, where he paid visits to the heads of all the leading European powers. In this two-year voyage, Alexander Nikolayevich was accompanied by the sovereign's adjutant, Count Infantry General A.V. Patkul, who was strictly instructed to ensure that the heir did not go beyond certain limits in his heart hobbies.
Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich Romanov built his military career exactly as it was appropriate for the future emperor. He renewed the shoulder straps of Major General in 1836, and after 8 years became a full general. During the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), when the Petersburg province was in a state of war, he was the commander of all the capital's troops. In addition, he was part of the General Staff, was the chieftain of the Cossack forces, and also led a number of elite regiments.
At the head of a great but ruined empire
Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich entered the Russian throne on the day of the death of his father, Emperor Nicholas I, who passed away on February 18 (March 2), 1855. Then the tsar’s manifest was released, in which the heir to the throne before God and the fatherland made a vow to have the sole purpose of the well-being and prosperity of the people entrusted to him, which was a very difficult task, since Russia was in an extremely difficult situation.
The result of the lost Crimean War and mediocre foreign policy led to the complete international isolation of Russia. The costs of armament and warfare have drastically depleted the treasury, which did not receive proper replenishment due to the disruption of the state’s financial system. An immediate solution was demanded by the peasant question and the problems associated with Poland, which, if delayed, threatened an inevitable social explosion.
The first important step of the new emperor of Russia, Alexander Nikolayevich, was taken in March 1856. It was the conclusion of the Paris world, although it was signed on unfavorable conditions for Russia, but put an end to the Crimean War, which was disastrous and completely meaningless. Immediately after this, he visited Warsaw and Berlin, where he met with King Frederick William. The result was a breakthrough in the foreign policy blockade and the beginning of very constructive negotiations.
In the socio-political life of the country, the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich was also marked by the beginning of the long-awaited “thaw”. It seemed to many then that Russia was opening the way to building a democratic society.
The beginning of the reforms of Alexander II Nikolaevich
The years of the reign of the emperor, who earned the honorary title of the Liberator and who was killed by the representatives of the same people, about whose freedom he constantly cried out, were marked by reforms unprecedented in scale. The most significant among them were nine.
In 1857, the emperor abolished the extremely painful and ineffective system of military settlements, in which the soldier's service was combined with production work. Introduced in 1810 by his own uncle, Emperor Alexander I, it adversely affected the combat effectiveness of the Russian army.
The most important transformation in the life of Russia, which brought the emperor unfading glory, was the abolition of serfdom, without which further movement along the path of progress was unthinkable. However, this event, which was announced by the Manifesto on February 19 (March 3), 1861, received extremely mixed assessments from representatives of various sectors of society. The progressive intelligentsia, warmly welcoming the reform, meanwhile noted its significant flaw and indicated that the peasants, released into freedom without land, were deprived of their livelihoods.
Representatives of the nobility, most of which were landowner-feudal lords, met with hostility as the reform deprived them of cheap labor and thereby cut incomes. The peasants themselves reacted to the freedom granted to them in different ways. It is known that she frightened many, and they did not want to leave their "master breadwinner." Others, on the contrary, were quick to take advantage of the opportunities that had opened up.
Innovations in Finance and Higher Education
Following the peasant reform, a series of important changes in the financial life of the country followed, which began in 1863. Their need was the result of the abolition of serfdom, which became the impetus for the development of new capitalist forms of the economy at that time, which this third reform of the emperor Alexander Nikolaevich was aimed at supporting. Its goal was to modernize the entire financial system of the Russian state.
Further, a deep reform was carried out in the field of higher education. On June 18, 1863, a legal act was passed, which was the new and most liberal university charter in the history of pre-revolutionary Russia. It regulated all issues related to the educational process and, very importantly, clearly defined the rights of students and the teaching staff.
Reform of the judiciary and the creation of zemstvos
Among the great liberal reforms carried out during the reign of Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich, there are two normative acts that saw the light of day in 1664.
The first of them related to the organization of local self-government and was called the "Zemstvo reform", since they envisaged the creation of elected local authorities called "zemstvos" on the ground.
The second document paved the way for a comprehensive reform in the field of legal proceedings, building it according to the European model. From now on, it became open, public, with the introduction of an adversarial process in which both parties were given the opportunity to provide and refute evidence. In addition, a completely new institute of jurors was established at that time.
Reforms of city government and secondary education
Further, Alexander II continued his reform activities, introducing significant changes in the field of urban self-government. In June 1870, he signed a document called the "City Status", on the basis of which the townspeople received the right to create three levels of their local self-government: an election meeting, a council and a council.
The same document regulated in detail all issues related to elections to city councils, the main feature of which was the lack of class division between deputies. Among the requirements were only compliance with age and property qualifications, as well as the absence of tax arrears and the presence of Russian citizenship.
A year later, the sovereign carried out a “Secondary Education Reform”, thanks to which people from lower classes were accepted into the country's educational institutions. In addition, the previously existing general education course was replenished with classical disciplines, such as Greek and Latin, mathematics, history, philosophy, rhetoric, etc. At the same time, institutions of a new type appeared. These included zemstvo and parochial schools, public and commercial schools, as well as women's courses.
Another military reform
And, finally, the list of the most striking acts of Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich Romanov is completed by the Reform of the Armed Forces of 1874. It provided for the replacement of the previously existing recruitment recruitment by universal military service. If in the first case only a certain number of persons of the corresponding age were involved in military service from each territorial-administrative unit (volost, county, or province), now the entire male population of the country has become liable for military service.
This document, aimed at improving the defense capability of Russia, could conditionally be divided into two parts: organizational and technological. The first determined the procedure for attracting to military service all those who, according to their data, met the requirements. The second part regulated the equipping of the army with new military equipment and small arms systems that met the technical requirements of that time.
The result of the reforms
Carrying out all the transformations described above served the solution of long overdue economic and socio-political problems. Reforms cleared the way for building a state based on the rule of law and strengthening civil society. These innovations played an important role for the development of capitalism in Russia.
However, it should be noted that under the influence of the conservative part of the government, some reforms (Zemsky, judicial) by the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander had to be partially limited, and the counterreforms carried out later by his son Emperor Alexander III in many ways affected other good undertakings.
The suppression of the Polish uprising
In solving the so-called Polish question, the king was forced to resort to extreme measures. When in February 1863 significant territories of the Kingdom of Poland, Right-Bank Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania were revolted, on his orders, the rebels pacified with incredible cruelty: in addition to those killed in battle, 129 people were executed, 800 were sent to hard labor, and about 500 were deported to other parts of the empire. Such measures provoked a protest among the liberal part of society and became one of the reasons for the creation of a secret and overt opposition.
The family life of the sovereign
The emperor’s personal life was very complex and received a very mixed assessment from his contemporaries. In 1841, he married with the Princess of the Hessian house Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sofia Marina, who adopted the name of Maria Alexandrovna in Orthodoxy. They were united by tender feelings, and the fruit of their life together were 8 children, the eldest of whom, Nikolai, was preparing to inherit the royal throne from his father. However, he died on April 12 (24), 1865. Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and Maria Alexandrovna, having experienced a bereavement, began to prepare for the accession to the throne of the next oldest heir - the future emperor Alexander the Third.
However, in 1866, the life of the august couple was disrupted by the young Tsar’s favorite, a pupil of the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens Ekaterina Dolgorukova, who later gave birth to 4 children. Favoritism has always been a habitual phenomenon at court, but in this case the sovereign violated the unspoken rules of etiquette by setting aside his lover and her children in the Winter Palace directly and openly leading two families.
This caused general condemnation and set against him many prominent dignitaries. After the death of Maria Alexandrovna in June 1880 from tuberculosis, Alexander II married Yekaterina Dolgorukova, not even considering it necessary to observe the annual mourning laid down in such cases. By such a violation of decency, he further aggravated his general hostility.
Death on the Catherine Channel
Despite the many progressive reforms of the sovereign, which were described above, both individual aggressively-minded individuals and members of the underground terrorist organization “Narodnaya Volya” made repeated attempts to kill him. The first attempt on Alexander II was committed in 1866, and then over the next 15 years there were six more. The last, which occurred on March 1 (13), 1881 on the embankment of the Catherine’s Canal, became fatal, interrupting the life of the Tsar Reformer, who earned the title of Liberator with his deeds. In memory of Alexander II, at the place of his death, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ was erected, popularly referred to as the “Savior on Blood”.
What happened next? Alexander III inherited the Russian throne. However, this is a completely different story.